Pallet tiering frame



July 2, 1963 1.. F. SKUBIC PALLET TIERING FRAME Filed April 4, 19 1 m RB0 T U 4 T wk A N w J, 9

E a. L a H u 3,095,837 Patented July 2, 1963 3,095,837 PALLET THERHNGFRAME Leroy F. Slnubic, Beverly Shores, Ind, assignor to The PoitierCorporation, Illiichigan City, Ind, a corporation of Illinois Filed Apr.4, 1961, Ser. No. 160,718 6 Claims. (Cl. l0853) The present inventionrelates to pallet tiering frames and more specifically to pallet tieringframes including an improved base structure for mounting the frame on apallet.

It is the principal object of the provide an improved pallet tieringframe which is constructed and arranged to facilitate mounting on orremoval from a pallet which is strong and durable in construction,andwhich when mounted on a pallet affords a rugged and reliable tieringframe which is not susceptible of being accidentally removed or knockedoff of the pallet while other pallets are being tiered thereon.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pallet frame having animproved base structure for securing and supporting the frame on apallet, which structure prevents accidental disengagement of the framefrom the pallet, is simple in operation when the tiering frame is beingmounted on or removed from the pallet, and which is sufficiently ruggedso that it is not easily damaged under severe usage conditions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pallet tiering framehaving an improved pallet engaging base structure for securing andsupporting the frame on a pallet in a manner which enables the frame tobe slipped on the pallet but which prevents the frame from beinginadvertently or accidentally removed.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the following description proceeds taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a pallet having a pallet tiering frameembodying the present invention mounted thereon.

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the pallet tiering frame and pallet shownin FIG. 1 and showing in phantom a pallet tiering frame removed from andbeing mounted on the pallet.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a pallet tiering frame basestructure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view partly in section illustrating the palletand tiering frame supported on a lower tiering frame.

FIG. 5 is an elevation view similar to FIG. 2 showing a modified form ofthe present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. '3 showing a modified form of basestructure.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 4 and illustrating the modifiedsupporting means shown in FIG. 6.

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications andalternative constructions, certain preferred embodiments have been shownin the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that there is no intention to limit the inventionto the specific form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is tocover all modifications, alternative constructions, equivalents and usesfalling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in theappended claims.

The invention may be employed with'most commercial pallets inclundingsingle face and double face pallets. The construction of a typicalwooden double face pallet in general commercial use is shown in FIG. 1of the drawings. Such a pallet, designated generally by the numeral 10,comprises spaced parallel wooden stringers present invention to 12having a plurality of deck boards .14 and bottom slats 15 disposed inspaced apart crosswise relation and secured on the stringer 12 by meansof nails, screws or the like. For convenience in describing theinvention, the two slatted sides of the pallet are hereafter referred toas the top and bottom respectively. The extremities of the palletbetween which the stringers 12 extend are referred to as the palletends, and the extremities between which the deckboards l4 and slats 15extend are referred to as the sides. Single face pallets include thestringers and upper deck boards but not the bottom slats.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a new andimproved removable pallet tiering frame, an illustrative embodiment ofwhich is shown in the drawing and comprises, a pair of H-shaped frames,indicated generally at 20 each formed of a pair of posts 2-1 permanentlyjoined together such as by a crossbar 22 fixed at a point adjacent theirupper ends or generally intermediate their ends. The frames thus formedare shown in FIG. 1 as being generally H-shaped in character and aremounted on the sides of the pallet, a suitable base structure or clipbeing provided on the lower end of each of the posts for engaging thepallet and supporting the frame thereon. The upper ends of correspondingones of posts 21 of each frame 26 are joined by horizontal bars or crossrails 24 having means such as a socket 25 at each end for engaging theupper end of a post 21. For securely engaging the pallet, the posts arepitched at a slight angle with respect to each other so that the clipsare urged into secure engagement with the pallet so as to preventaccidental release.

Means are provided on the frame 20 for securely engaging the frame withthe pallet. For this purpose one such means is a new and improved palletengaging base or clip 28 mounted on the lower end of each post. The clip23 depends between spaced deck boards and grips a pallet stringer when atiering frame is mounted on the pallet deck. An illustrative clip 28 isshown in the drawing and comprises a generally U-shaped or hairpinshaped member having a pair of relatively Wide fingers 29, 30 dependingfrom a web 31 which is securely fastened to the lower end of a post 21.The clip 28 slips down between a pair of spaced deck boards 14 intogripping. engagement with a pallet stringer 12. To this end, the fingersare spaced apart an amount slightly less than the nominal width of aconventional pallet stringer so that when the clip 28 is presseddownwardly onto a stringer the pallet thereby is tightly gripped. Also,the fingers are of a width slightly less than the spacing between thedeck boards so that the clip can slip between the boards to engage andrest on a stringer.

For purposes of securely engaging the pallet to prevent the frame frombeing accidentally lifted or knocked off of the pallet deck, the clips28 are provided with suitable means for engaging an adjacent deck board14 in addition to gripping the stringer 12. To this end, each finger ofthe clip is provided with a projecting portion 32 defining an upwardlyextending shoulder or lip 34 which is adapted to slip beneath anadjacent deck board 14 when the clip 28 has been inserted over astringer 12 as shown in H6. 2. This projection 32 is preferably formedas an integral part of each finger as shown in FIG. 3, wherein the widthof the finger is somewhat greater at the top portion adjacent the webthan at the bottom so as to define thereon an upwardly extendingshoulder 34. Alternatively, there is shown in FIG. 6 a modified form ofthe invention wherein the projection is formed by a strip or lug hereinidentified as 32a, welded onto each finger adjacent the web of the clip.This lug 32a also defines an upwardly facing shoulder 34a adapted toengage beneath an adjacent deck board 14 as shown in FIG. 7.

In order to urge the clip projection 32 and shoulder 34 beneath anadjacent deck board 14 when the clip has been inserted over a palletstringer, the vertical posts 21 of the frame are formed so as to have aslight bias at their loweredends. This bias may either be inwardly atthe bottom ends of the posts, as shown in phantom in FIG. 2, oroutwardly at the bottom ends of the posts, as shown in phantom in FIG.5. Refer-ring to FEG. 2 for example, with the posts biased inwardly attheir bottom ends, the clips 23 are mounted on the bottom of the posts21 with the projection 32 or 320 on each clip facing inwardly of theframe. In other words, the clips 28 on the lower ends of a given pair offrame posts are mounted so that the projections 3e are opposed to orfacing each other. By slipping the H-frame downwardly onto the palletand simultaneously pulling the lower ends of the posts apart a slightamount as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2, the clips 28 are able to slipbetween the adjacent deck boards 14 and onto a stringer 12. When theclips have been received on the pallet stringers, the natural inwardbias of the post ur es shoulder 34 or 34a on the clip projections 32 or32a under the adjacent deck boards thereby to mount the frame securelyon the pallet in a manner such as to prevent accidental disengagement ofthe frame when additional pallets are tiered thereon.

The efiect can also be achieved by biasing the lower ends of the postoutwardly in the H-frame construction as shown in FIG. 5. When the postsare biased outwardly, the clips 28 will be mounted on the posts 21 withthe projections 32 facing apart or outwardly of the frame. The posts andframe are then mounted on the pallet deck by first pressing the lowerends of the posts inwardly towards each other, then slipping the clipsover the pallet stringer between the deck boards and allowing thenatural resilency of the posts to urge the clips outwardly and positionthe projections underneath the adjacent deck board.

It will be noted that when the posts of the H-frame are pitchedinwardly, the projection on each clip finger is directed inwardly,whereas when the posts are pitched outwardly the projections arelikewise directed outwardly. Thus in the first instance with the postspitched inwardly and the hooks directed inwardly, when the frame is tobe mounted on a pallet the posts must be pulled apart slightly to enablethe clips to pass between spaced deck boards to engage the stringerfollowing which the projection thereon slips beneath an adjacent deckboard as shown in FIG. 2. Similarly, when the posts are pitchedoutwardly and the hooks or projections are directed outwardly, theposts.

are compressed inwardly a slight amount when placed on a pallet so thatthey tend to spring outwardly again, thereby urging the projectionbeneath an adjacent deck board as shown in FIG. 5. The naturalresiliency of the vertical posts has been found to be sufiicient toafford this gripping and locking action as described above.

To facilitate engagement of the frames and clips with the pallet in themodification shown in FIG. 3, the portion of the clip 28 forming theprojection 32 is desirably tapered from a relatively wide dimension atthe top of the clip adjacent the web 31 and defining the shoulder 3410a'sm'aller dimension at the bottom extremities of the fingers 2.9, 30.This taper defines a cam surface 35 on each finger which can ride alongthe edge of a deck board 14 and cam the posts and clips outwardly andenable the clips to drop over the stringer l2 and into engagement withthe pallet.

When the clip modification shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is employed, the postsof the H-frame must be forcibly pulled apart or pushed together toenable the clip and projection 32a to slip between the spaced deckboards 14.

It should be understood that by reference to H-frame type structures itis meant that the vertical posts are connected at a point adjacent tothe upper ends in order to provide the necessary resiliency by which thelower ends of the posts may be separated. Moreover, the frameconstruction is of a substantially improved character in order toincrease rigidity and ruggedness of the structure i when used forsupporting multiple tiered pallets. To this end the H-frames are formedof vertical tubular posts having a tubular cross bar securely attached,e.g., welded intermediate the ends of the post. To the lower end of theposts are welded the webs of the clips 28.

For forming a rigid tiering frame, means are provided on the upper endsof the posts for engaging cross rails 24. For this purpose the upperends of the posts are swaged to a reduced diameter such that the outerdimension is substantially the same as the inner dimension of theremainder of the posts. The cross rails extend between the upper ends ofcorresponding posts of each pair when the H- frames are mounted onopposite sides of the pallet, and

include at each end a tubular socket.

To facilitate the tiering of pallets on the frames the cross bars 24 areformed of pipe or like tubular member preferably of a generally circularcross section. Such a circular cross section assures the alinement ofvertically tiered pallets inasmuch as the rounded upper surfaces of thecross bar as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7 serves as a guiding surface whenengaged with the bottom slats on a pallet.

I claim as my invention:

l. A load carrying pallet frame for use on a supporting pallet forvertically carrying a plurality of similar pallets thereon, each pallethaving longitudinal stringers and spaced deck boards securedtransversely on said stringers, said frame comprising a pair of opposedframes mountable on the pallet each above a stringer thereof,

said frames each including a pair of substantially vertical supportposts and means permanently connecting said posts together with saidposts pitched with respect to each other and stifily resilient so thatthe lower ends thereof may be moved in opposition to said pitch, meanson the lower end of each post for gripping a pallet stringer and forengaging a deck board including a pair of depending parallel spacedfinger plates joined at their upper ends by a web, said web being ofsubstantially the same width as the diameter of said posts and saidfinger plates being spaced apart a suificient amount to snugly engagethe pallet stringer, said fingers including a projection extendingbeneath a pallet deck board when the frame is mounted on the pallet andsaid fingers engage a stringer thereof.

2. In a load carrying pallet frame a pair of substantially verticalsupport posts, means permanently and rigidly connecting said poststogether to define a structural frame with each of said posts beingpitched at a slight angle with respect to each other and stiffiyresilient so that the lower ends thereof may be urged relative to eachother, a hairpin type clamp having a pair of depending finger platesjoined at their upper ends by a web, said clip being secured to thelower end of a post by Welding the web to the lower end thereof, saidweb being of substantially the same width as the diameter of the postsand said finger plates being spaced apart a sufiicient amount to snuglyengage the pallet stringer, said fingers including projections extendingin the direction of pitch of the posts and engageable beneath a palletdeck board when the frame is mounted upon a pallet.

3. A load carrying pallet frame for use on a supporting pallet forvertically carrying a plurality of similar pallets thereon, each pallethaving longitudinal stringers and spaced deck boards securedtransversely on said stringers, said frame comprising a pair of opposedH- frames mounta le on the pallet each above a stringer thereof, saidframes each including a pair of substantially vertical support posts andmeans connecting said posts together intermediate their ends and withsaid posts pitched with respect to each other and stifiiy resilient sothat the lower ends thereof may be moved in opposition to said pitch,means on the lower end of each post for gripping a pallet stringer andfor engaging a deck board and including a pair of depending parallelspaced finger plates joined at their upper ends by a web, said web beingof substantially the same width as the diameter of said posts, saidfinger plates being spaced apart a suflicient amount to snugly engagethe pallet stringer, said fingers including an integral projectionextending beyond said web in the direction of pitch of the posts andhaving an outer edge tapering upwardly and outwardly to form a camsurface and defining on its upper edge an outwardly extending shoulder,said cam surface engaging the edge of a pallet deck board when the frameis inserted onto a pallet and thereby urging the posts apart, and saidshoulder engaging under said deck board when the frame is mounted on apallet With said fingers engaging a stringer to prevent accidentalremoval of the frame from the pallet.

4. A load carrying pallet frame for use on a supporting pallet forvertically carrying a plurality of similar pallets thereon, each pallethaving longitudinal stringers and spaced deck boards securedtransversely on said stringers, said frame comprising a pair of opposedH- frames mountable on the pallet each above a stringer thereof, saidframes each including a pair of substantially vertical support posts andmeans connecting said posts together intermediate their ends and withsaid posts pitched with respect to each other and stifily resilient sothat the lower ends thereof may be moved in opposition to said pitch,means on the lower end of each post for gripping a pallet stringer andfor engaging a deck board and including a pair of depending parallelspaced finger plates joined at their upper ends by a web, said web beingof substantially the same width as the diameter of said posts, saidfinger plates being spaced apart a suflicient amount to snugly engagethe pallet stringer, said fingers including an integral projectionextending beyond said web in the direction of pitch of the posts andhaving an outer edge tapering upwardly and outwardly to form a camsurface and defining on its upper edge an outwardly extending shoulder,said cam surface engaging the edge of a pallet deck board when the frameis inserted onto a pallet and thereby urging the posts apart, saidshoulder engaging under said deck board when the frame is mounted on apallet with said fingers engaging a stringer to prevent accidentalremoval of the frame from the pallet, the upper end of each post beingof reduced diameter, a pair of cross rails joining the posts of said H-frames with each cross rail extending between corresponding posts ofsaid frames, and each cross rail having a depending socket at each endthereof for telescopingly receiving an upper end of a post.

5. In a load carrying pallet frame a pair of substantially verticalsupport posts, means permanently and rigidly connecting said poststogether to define a structural frame with each of said posts beingpitched at a slight angle with respect to each other and stifilyresilient so that the lower ends thereof may be urged relative to eachother, a hairpin type clip having a pair of depending finger platesjoined at their upper ends by a web secured to the lower end of a post,said web being of substantially the same width as the diameter of theposts and said finger plates being spaced apart a sufficient amount tosnugly engage the pallet stringer, at least one of said fingers having aprojection thereon extending beyond said web in the direction of pitchof the posts and defining an upwardly directed shoulder engageablebeneath a pallet deck board when the frame is mounted upon a pallet forpreventing accidental removal [of the frame from the pallet.

6. In a load carrying pallet frame, a pair of substantially verticalsupport posts, means permanently and rigidly connecting said poststogether to define a structural frame with each of said posts beingpitched at a slight angle with respect to each other and stifliyresilient so that the lower ends thereof may be urged relative to eachother, a hairpin type clip having a pair of depending finger platesjoined at their upper ends by a web secured to the lower end of a post,said web being of substantially the same width as the diameter of theposts and said finger plates being spaced apart a sufiicient amount tosnugly engage the pallet stringer, at least one of said fingersincluding an integral projection thereon extending beyond said web inthe direction of pitch of the posts and having an upwardly and outwardlysloping edge defining a cam surface thereon for facilitating mounting ofthe frame on the pallet, and said projection defining an upwardlydirected shoulder engageable beneath a pallet deck board when the frameis mounted upon a pallet for preventing accidental removal of the framefrom the pallet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,299,868 Steinheiser Apr. 8, 1919 1,551,243 Dick Aug. 25, 19252,678,798 Churchill May 18, 1954 2,924,339 Skubic Feb. 9, 1960 2,942,826De Pew June 28, 1960

1. A LOAD CARRYING PALLET FRAME FOR USE ON A SUPPORTING PALLET FORVERTICALLY CARRYING A PLURALITY OF SIMILAR PALLETS THEREON, EACH PALLETHAVING LONGITUDINAL STRINGERS AND SPACED DECK BOARDS SECUREDTRANSVERSELY ON SAID STRINGERS, SAID FRAME COMPRISING A PAIR OF OPPOSEDFRAMES MOUNTABLE ON THE PALLET EACH ABOVE A STRINGER THEREOF, SAIDFRAMES EACH INCLUDING A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL SUPPORT POSTS ANDMEANS PERMANENTLY CONNECTING SAID POSTS TOGETHER WITH SAID POSTS PITCHEDWITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER AND STIFFLY RESILIENT SO THAT THE LOWER ENDSTHEREOF MAY BE MOVED IN OPPOSITION TO SAID PITCH, MEANS ON THE LOWER ENDOF EACH POST FOR GRIPPING A PALLET STRINGER AND FOR ENGAGING A DECKBOARD INCLUDING A PAIR OF DEPENDING PARALLEL SPACED FINGER PLATES JOINEDAT THEIR UPPER ENDS BY A WEB, SAID WEB BEING OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAMEWIDTH AS THE DIAMETER OF SAID POSTS AND SAID FINGER PLATES BEING SPACEDAPART A SUFFICIENT AMOUNT TO SNUGLY ENGAGE THE PALLET STRINGER, SAIDFINGERS INCLUDING A PROJECTION EXTENDING BENEATH A PALLET DECK BOARDWHEN THE FRAME IS MOUNTED ON THE PALLET AND SAID FINGERS ENGAGE ASTRINGER THEREOF.